Chapter 114: Get Ready to WAAAGH!
Omega, who didn't know his tail was showing, the first thing he did when he got back was to measure if he had grown taller. "The time is too short to tell. Come on, I can do it!" Omega comforted himself with some positive thinking.
In fact, after absorbing that Tzeentch daemon, Omega had already guessed its "effect": increased intelligence. He felt that he had become smarter, his memory and thinking speed better than before. Also, through that daemon's reaction, Omega had discovered another of his passive talents: he could hide his soul. At least for now, the daemons didn't know that there was a new natural enemy that fed on them. This had put Omega's long-held fear of being exposed to rest.
Now that he knew the future arrival time of the Tyranids, Omega planned to let the Greenskins he was raising off the leash, to let them WAAAGH! with the Snakebite clan in the confinement area, to stimulate the Greenskins' growth through war.
He called a meeting with the Inquisitor, the Astra Militarum general, the Chapter Master of the Hammers of Dorn, and other high-ranking commanders. At the meeting, Omega announced his plan and asked for their opinions. After some discussion, the others also agreed.
Before the plan was officially implemented, Omega notified the T'au on the other side of the planet. After all, they were allies now. A misunderstanding that led to a firefight would only be a waste of both sides' strength.
Who knew that the blue-skinned xenos would be so thick-skinned? The same day they received Omega's notification, they sent a large group of people with heavy gifts to visit him, under the banner of facilitating timely communication between the two sides. The now-even-more-sly little cog-head could see at a glance that these T'au were here to steal his techniques. They also wanted to learn how to raise Orks.
"Hahaha, Magos Omega is as easy to talk to as the rumors say," the lead Water Caste T'au said flatteringly.
"Haha, we are old friends. I received a lot of care from you during my exchange on Bork'an. Isn't it all about reciprocity and mutual help between friends?"
"Yes, yes. Then it's a deal, Magos Omega."
"Don't worry. I'll take care of your people. I guarantee they won't go back empty-handed."
"Then I thank you very much. I never thought this mission would be so smooth. To be honest with you, Magos, when I received the mission, I never thought it would succeed. It was only when I knew you were in charge that I dared to try my luck. In the future, if you have any use for me, I will do my best to help."
"You're too kind, too kind. We're all friends."
After the Water Caste ambassador had left, Omega had the T'au he had brought with him arranged in the Greenskin farm, to learn "advanced farming experience" from the humans. He was being so generous because he wanted to set a trap for the T'au. As long as they dared to raise them, the Greenskins would surely give the T'au a surprise.
Even now, Omega did not at all believe that he had mastered the method of controlling the Greenskins. If it were that easy, the Greenskins would have been wiped out long ago. Even those Greenskin jailers, if he let them grow strong, would surely backstab him in the future. But the Tyranids were not waiting. The Greenskins had their uses. He could only wait until after Gorgon was defeated, and then use a lance strike to burn all the places the Greenskins had been.
He recalled all the savage warriors from the Greenskin forest and handed them over to the Astra Militarum. He also withdrew all the defensive lines that the Inquisitor was in charge of. The plan, which Omega had named "Green WAAAGH!," was now in motion.
"Tough Beast, you need to step it up. Savage-fang has a lot more Boyz than you," Omega said to the Greenskin not far away.
"Heh heh, Boss Cogboy, how 'bout you give me some more kick-ass gear? I'll definitely beat the crap out of that country bumpkin."
Seeing the Greenskin climbing up the pole, Omega cursed, "Get lost. The weapons your Boyz have now are still borrowed from someone else."
The Greenskin wasn't angry at being cursed. He scratched his head with a simple-minded look. "Boss, you can give me a few of those bark-barks. I'm da boss of da Boyz. I gotta have somethin' da Boyz ain't seen, somethin' they don't have. Otherwise, da Boyz won't listen to me."
"Fine. I'll give you a few mechanical hounds. Tell your Boyz, as long as they're WAAAGH! enough, I'll reward them with even more WAAAGH! weapons."
"Got it, boss! What about me?"
"Yeah. Don't die, Tough Beast."
"Thanks for da concern, boss! I don't wanna go see Gorkamorka before I've had enough WAAAGH!"
While Omega and Tough Beast were talking, not far away, a group of Greenskins in uniforms, holding Astra Militarum weapons, were escorting a long line of Greenskin "recruits" towards the hunting town next to the Greenskin forest. The deserted hunting town would be Tough Beast's main base from now on. He had chosen this location himself. He planned to first absorb the wild Boyz in the forest, to strengthen his forces, and then to go to war with Savage-fang's Snakebite clan.
Omega, besides borrowing a batch of weapons from the Astra Militarum for Tough Beast as "start-up capital," had no intention of interfering in the Greenskins' WAAAGH! What he wanted was to unleash the Greenskins' war potential before the Tyranids arrived. He would naturally not tie Tough Beast's hands. At the same time, he also planned to observe and evaluate the other party's actions for any signs of losing control. As for why he had to borrow weapons from the Astra Militarum, the reason was simple. Omega's production capacity was all on the mechanical hounds. Although he still had the weapons he had produced before, if he gave these weapons to Tough Beast, his strength would surpass Savage-fang's. This was something Omega did not want to see. What he wanted was an evenly matched WAAAGH! Only then would it be the best stimulation for the Greenskins.
The Greenskin farm had not stopped production. This was also Tough Beast's request. He understood that before he had taken a base that could be self-sufficient, this was his only stable source of troops. Before leaving, Tough Beast had promoted a deputy warden to manage the prison and had left half of the jailers behind, taking only the other half and the willing Greenskin prisoners with him.
Omega saw all of Tough Beast's actions but said nothing. He acted as he had told Tough Beast he would. As long as he didn't turn his guns on the humans, he could do whatever he wanted. Little did he know that in Omega's heart, this clever Ork was already on his kill list.
The unrestrained Greenskins quickly showed their talent for war. In a very short time, Lootas began to appear among them. And these Lootas, with just a stroll, could find the equipment that the savage warriors had lost in the forest. Stimulated by these pieces of equipment and the Astra Militarum weapons, the Orks under Tough Beast had directly evolved to the point where they could produce simple ranged weapons. At the same time, the WAAAGH! that Tough Beast had launched against all the feral Orks in the forest also made his Boyz recognize him more and more. His size also grew day by day under the effect of the Ork WAAAGH! field. After personally chopping down a few Greenskins who had dared to challenge him, the other Greenskins who had been dissatisfied with Tough Beast and his Blood Axes were also subdued.
While the Blood Axe Orks were strengthening their forces, the Snakebite Orks under Savage-fang, after discovering that the shrimps who had been blocking them were gone, immediately occupied the human fortress that had been used to defend against them. They also began to explore outside the confinement area, wanting to find the shrimps and continue their WAAAGH!
"Tough Beast, you ran back here just to ask me to support you with more weapons?" Omega's face was filled with disgust.
"Boss Cogboy, it ain't that I'm useless. It's that those bumpkins have too many Squigs, more than I have Boyz. The shootas we're making can't even get through a Squig's hide."
"Useless. A useless person never says he's useless."
"Yes, yes, the boss is right."
"Come with me."
Omega knew very well what was happening in the Greenskin forest. He had been paying close attention to the war between Tough Beast and Savage-fang. This Tough Beast, who had run back to ask for help, after sneaking a peek at Savage-fang's physique, had not dared to show his face in front of him. One boss was leading the charge, while the other was hiding and not daring to show his face, letting his Boyz charge. Was there any need to guess the result?
He led Tough Beast to a warehouse. The moment the Greenskin entered, he was attracted by the exoskeleton in the center, which was equipped with a power klaw. He couldn't wait to run over, but he stopped halfway, his eyes shining. "Boss, is this for me?"
"Hmm. Considering that you'll get bigger, I designed it as an exoskeleton. It should be enough for you for a while."
"Thanks, boss!" Tough Beast said and couldn't wait to run towards the exoskeleton. Without Omega's explanation, he had, by self-taught means, put on the exoskeleton and had even adjusted the size to fit him perfectly.
The Greenskin, wearing the exoskeleton, tried to move. He found that not only did it not restrict his flexibility, but it had also multiplied his strength. He then raised the power klaw and activated the disruption field. Tough Beast didn't know what the blue light on the claw was, but he knew it must be very WAAAGH!
"Are you satisfied?" Omega asked the Greenskin, who was so excited his face was ferocious.
"Very satisfied! I knew you were the most thoughtful shrimp, boss!"
"Over there are the weapons for your Boyz. Don't disappoint me again, Tough Beast."
The Greenskin heard the warning in Omega's words. He immediately pounded his chest and said with a fawning smile, "Don't worry, boss. I'll go back and chop off that Savage-fang's head."
Omega did not respond, just turned and left. After he was gone, Tough Beast looked in the direction he had gone, his scarlet eyes thinking of something.
Tough Beast, eager to replenish his subordinates, first drew a batch of Boyz from the Greenskin farm. After having these Boyz carry the weapons and ammunition, he led the Greenskins back to the Greenskin forest. At the same time, a giant power axe also fell from the sky and crashed into the center of Savage-fang's Greenskin camp.
With the support of the exoskeleton, Tough Beast used a few charges to turn the tide of the battle. But after the power-axe-wielding Savage-fang appeared on the battlefield, the battle once again entered a stalemate. The humans were very satisfied with this stalemate, and the secretly watching T'au were also very satisfied. The Greenskins, who were in the middle of a WAAAGH!, were naturally also satisfied.
In the continuous WAAAGH!, the Snakebite Orks' bodies grew larger, their war beasts more numerous, and they grew faster. At the same time, more Weirdboyz and Runtherds began to appear among them. The Gretchin under them also became smarter than before, able to build better weapons for the Snakebites and to provide stronger long-range fire support.
The Blood Axe Orks also upgraded in the WAAAGH! Kommandos, who were good at sneak attacks and used tactics, began to appear. Many of the Lootas were also promoted to Mekboyz. All sorts of strange shootas, burnas, and other weapons were created by them and were then exchanged by other Greenskins for teeth or a good punch. Ground vehicles made of junk and scrap also appeared among the Greenskins.
The mushrooms in the Greenskin forest, stimulated by the Ork WAAAGH!, grew faster and more numerous. Every day, an unknown number of wild Greenskins from all directions would flock to the camps of these two Greenskin factions, pick up a suitable big club, and begin the first WAAAGH! of their lives.